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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23410150">Sougo, Roll a d20</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/nicthetoony359/pseuds/nicthetoony359'>nicthetoony359</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Dungeons &amp; Dragons (Roleplaying Game), Kamen Rider Zi-O</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - No Powers, Comedy, D&amp;D 5e, Fluff, Gen, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Roleplay</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 07:56:03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>6,007</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23410150</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/nicthetoony359/pseuds/nicthetoony359</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Join the Zi-O trio (+ Heure and Ora) on a fantastic journey by their dungeon master, Woz, trough the world of Stonerun (and Fifth Edition Dungeons and Dragons), battling against bandits, horrifying monsters and Ora's complete disinterest in roleplaying! Prepare the salty snacks and get your twenty sided dice out and ready, because it's time for the group to embark on a quest.. </p><p>..trough the Chronicles of Eternity!</p><p>(Co-written by me and my set of RPG Dice)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This story came out from my recent experiences DM-ing a campaign of D&amp;D as well as my desire to find out what it'd be like to write a story partially decided by the whims of a dice roll.</p><p>(Here's the gang's character sheets: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1TyA9bauLySFs_y72BIslvft6VQ-B4YKL?usp=sharing)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The Bedrock Tavern was teeming with life despite the late hour. It was a humble building, converted from a house for three into an establishment welcoming all without much care for it’s patrons backgrounds. By day it served the working man on break, by night it was the haven for Bards looking for a rowdy crowd and the more unsavory individuals that called Greenton home. Assassins and mercenaries and dealers of wares dangerous and forbidden. The small town of Greenton was unremarkable in many ways, out of sight from the watchful eyes of the kingdom’s guard, Greenton’s pleasant community and farming economy hid a dark underbelly.</p><p>In this unassuming tavern, five people unknown to each other would come, to a place that would set them off on the adventure of their lives. Five people called here by an unknown party willing to pay them a small fortune if they were brave enough to take up the offer.</p><p>“You walk into the establishment, players. What do you do?” Woz asked his party of five, glancing at the notes behind his DM screen.</p><p>There were a few moments of silence at the table as all present thought on what their characters would do, Tsukuyomi glancing trough her character sheet while the rest just pondered (..except for Ora, who did not seem engaged in the roleplay).</p><p>Heure was the first to speak “Uh.. is there anyone in the tavern, like, right now?”</p><p>“There is a group of drunkards in front of the bar.. three human adults? They”re drunk but it’s not like- a fun kind of drunk.”</p><p>The boy nodded  “Okay, I’m a bard so I play some music try and get like a party vibe going!”</p><p>“Sweet, the violin. Great for parties.” Ora deadpanned</p><p>Heure took out his pencil and began writing something on his character sheet “It’s name is the Party Violin now, fuck you!”</p><p>The players at the table smirked and snickered at the sibling banter, Sougo chiming in with “Describe what the party violin looks like.” Heure spoke, train-of-consciousness style when he described it as  “It looks like absolute dog shit, like if a dragon fucked it then ate it. It looks like it”s seen shit. That”s how you know it’s the Party Violin!”</p><p>That gets a good chuckle out of the whole table (Ora included), before Woz continues with his Dungeon Master-ing. “Alright, roll a performance check. That’s your d20”</p><p>“It’s this one right?” Heure asked, holding up a 20 sided dice. Woz nodded as he saw Geiz in the periphery look closely at Heure”s dice, mentally cataloging it when it came his turn to roll. “Ok, cool.” Heure said as the dice fell to the table, spinning in the air for just a moment before landing on a 15.</p><p>“15 and a plus five on my Performance. Awesome. I play like, a real jam while I’m standing on top a chair or something.”</p><p>Woz nodded and then took in a breath to continue his narration.</p><p>Walking trough the entrance of the Bedrock Tavern is a Rock Gnome who, even by the standards of Rock Gnomes, isn’t all too tall. No one pays him much mind until the Gnome named Fiddle Dee stands on top a bar stool and begins playing his signature Party Violin. The sound produced by the instruments attracts the attention of patron and bartender alike, before quickly invigorating them with it’s charming, dreamlike music. The small crowd is enamored by the little gnome’s tune.</p><p>“It is the song of my people” Heure said in an exaggerated high pitch, his hands mimicking the motions of a violinist “Bad Blood by Taylor Swift.”</p><p>The group laughs with Geiz adding “I don’t like the implication that Taylor Swift is a gnome!” which gets a few more chuckles out of them.</p><p>“Anybody else wanna do something?” Woz asks of the group.</p><p>“Sure,” Tsukuyomi answers “I guess I’ll just find a seat and wait it out? The guy who asked us to come isn’t here yet right?”</p><p>“That is correct.”</p><p>“Okay I’ll just find a seat and hang out- read my spellbook, until he comes along.”</p><p>As the gnome named Fiddle Dee serenaded the patrons with his lovely music, a tall Elven woman dressed in white robes entered the establishment. Druscilla’s expression is serious but the tenseness of her shoulders betrays her unease at both the establishment and the possible client she’ll be speaking with. She finds a seat near the back of the tavern, allowing the music to fade into background noise as she flips trough her spellbook.</p><p>“I can’t think of anything else to do, so I’ll just sit too.” Geiz says and Woz responds “With Druscilla?” It takes Geiz a few seconds to register the Elven name as Tsukuyomi’s character, but he eventually responds with a “..sure. Wait, actually do we know each other?” He turned to Tsukuyomi, who shrugged.</p><p>“I’ll leave that up to you to decide.” Woz said.</p><p>The Red Dragonborn, Badeek Firr strode into the tavern with a warrior’s look about him. He seemed ready for a fight (or at least a few shifty looking strangers that might have the bright idea of robbing a fire breathing barbarian). Badeek ignored the music, instead spotting the young elven woman out of place with the rest of his surroundings.</p><p>He walked up to her, his footsteps already drawing her attention “Are you here for the job?”</p><p>“A hello is usually how you start these, sir.” The elf responded catching Badeek (and Geiz) a little off guard. The Dragonborn coughed into his arm “Uh, right. Sorry. Hello, may I sit here?”</p><p>The elf looked him over once, pondering for a moment before scooching over to give the larger creature some space. “You may.”</p><p>Badeek squeezed himself into the booth, trying to avoid knocking over the table with his large knees. “If we’re talking about the same job then, yeah. Completely anonymous client?” Druscilla asked him.</p><p>“Yep, nonspecific mission, vague reward?” Badeek (Geiz) continued “Exactly the type of job old Badeek goes for!”</p><p>“I’ll tell you about the quest when the guy comes, okay?” Woz interrupted the roleplay with thinly veiled annoyance. Sougo spoke up “I sit down too, alone, and I look around the room for anything suspicious. That’s a perception check right?”</p><p>Woz nodded “Uh sure, roll a d20.”</p><p>Dice rolls on the table, one persons sigh while the others laugh.</p><p>“Uh, 2.”</p><p>The human fighter named Kaleb King almost ran into the door on his way into the tavern, somehow failing to spot it. After sitting down on a nearby table, the former noble looked around the room- caution never failed him but the only thing that popped out to him was the gnome serenading a group of drunkards.</p><p>“I yell at Fiddle Dee ‘Hey, I love your music!” Sougo said.</p><p>Fiddle Dee looked behind him and saw a stranger shouting compliments at his playing, which he was used to by this point. He yelled back “I love your stupid face!” at Kaleb, the human responding with a pleasant smile. “Weirdo.” Fiddle remarked with amusement.</p><p>Woz turned to the player on his right “Ora, what are you doing while this is happening?”</p><p>“I.. sit.” She said with a noncommittal shrug.</p><p>“..And?” Heure asked.</p><p>“..Away from all the dumbasses in the room.” She added with a pointed glare at her brother</p><p>Geiz rolled his eyes “She said, edgily.”</p><p>“Fuck off.”</p><p>In a dark corner of the establishment, a Tiefling woman sat by herself, trying to tune out the music and voices from the rest of the tavern. Makaria’s tail swayed slowly from side to side as her fingers tapped the wooden table in a steady rhythm.</p><p>The hours passed in song and drinks, Fiddle Dee had finished his song some time ago and his audience had already begun filtering out of the-</p><p>“Wait wait wait, before they go, I pickpocket them for cash.” Heure said with a grin, dice in hand. The others regarded him with amusement as Woz said “Roll a d20 for Sleight of Hand.” He quickly added “All skill checks and ability checks are d20’s by the way, just so there’s no confusion.”</p><p>He rolls, letting out a surprised and worried chuckle when he says “A one.” He looked over his character sheet, quickly adding “Um, I have +3 on Dex and +5 on Sleight of Hand though.. so..”</p><p>“Plus their drunk!” Sougo chimed in.</p><p>“All right..” Woz stroked his chin.</p><p>As the drunkards filtered out of the tavern, small and deft hands reached into their pockets and the men and women who leave walk home to their families 5 gold poorer each, while Fiddle Dee pocketed 15 gold into his pouch.</p><p>“Hey, do we see this?” Tsukuyomi asks, and Heure pouts at her “Come ooonnn don’t be a snitch!” She shrugged with a little mischievous smirk “I’m Lawful Good, it’s in my nature.”</p><p>“Roll for perception.” Woz said</p><p>“12 plus my modifiers is 16.”</p><p>Heure speaks up “I wanna try and hide my loot!”</p><p>“Roll for Sleight of Hand, then.”</p><p>“..”</p><p>“Heure?”</p><p>“. . . 1”</p><p>“Alright.”</p><p>Druscilla stood up from her seat and pointed her staff at the Gnome yelling “Thief!”, startling both Fiddle and her Dragonborn associate. Fiddle hid the pouch of gold, poorly, behind his back. The bartender looked with vague disinterest at both of them, holding back a yawn. “H-Hey now lady, there ain’t no need to toss accusations around!”</p><p>“I cast Magic Hand and take the pouch of gold from him.” Tsukuyomi said, prompting a light-hearted “Nooo!” from Heure “I avoid the hand and run away!”</p><p>“Roll for Dexterity.”</p><p>“..Oh come on!” Heure said indignantly “Why do I keep getting bad rolls!?” He sighed, before saying with his face in his hands “..2”</p><p>The spectral hand deftly swiped the pouch of money away from Fiddle’s hand. It floated back to it’s caster before disappearing quickly, the gold now held comfortably in her hand. “Hey, that’s theft!” Fiddle Dee pointed an accusing finger at Druscilla “That’s not yours!”</p><p>Druscilla raised an eyebrow at him, pointing her staff at the gnome “And it’s not yours either!”</p><p>Sougo spoke up “Kaleb tells both of them to calm down.”</p><p>The human fighter stood up from his seat and held his hands out between Druscilla and Fiddle Dee “C-Calm down ya’ll! We don’t have to get all yell-y about this!” The two looked at him with confusion, Druscilla’s grip on her staff relaxing for just a moment. “Who the hell are you?” Fiddle Dee asked, crossing his arms while eyeing the pouch of gold.</p><p>“My name is Kaleb, Kaleb King.” He put on a disarmingly pleasant smile as he asked them “What are you’re names?”</p><p>“Fiddle Dee, entertainer extraordinaire!”</p><p>“Druscilla Featherlight, wizard in training.”</p><p>“And I’m here too.” The three looked to Badeek, who looked tense and unsure in between all three of them. “I just.. I haven’t said anything in a while so uh..” He twiddled with his thumbs “..Hi. My name is Badeek.”</p><p>Druscilla nodded. “His name is Badeek.”</p><p>Kaleb waved at the dragonborn “Now, considering how late it is and how we’re the only people left here, I think it’s safe to assume that we’re all here for a job offer?” All three nod their heads, Kaleb smiled. “Well, if we’re all going to be co-workers, I think it’d be nice to get along for now.”</p><p>Fiddle Dee and Druscilla looked at each other, frustration and distrust in their eyes respectively. After a few tense moments, Druscilla relented and set aside her staff. “Very well.. but we’re discussing it later.”</p><p>“..Fine.” Fiddle Dee mumbled under his breath.</p><p>At that moment, the door of the Bedrock Tavern opened and in walked a tall Half-Elven man at least thirty years in age. “Very glad to know my new hires are already well acquainted with eachother.” The man wore a battered old robe that clung to his body, it’s cloth patchwork and stitched together after years of wear and tear. Strapped to the man’s back is something as long as his legs, wrapped behind layers of brown cloth. “My name is Garren Ruthberg, you all saw the ad I put out I assume?”</p><p>“..Uh, yeah? I think?” Bareed said “You know making the ad anonymous made this way more confusing than it had to be.”</p><p>Garren walked up to the nearest table, setting down the item strapped to his back on top of it. “Shut the fuck up, you all came anyway, didn’t you?” He turned to the bartender and said “Drinks, my man, for the whole table!”</p><p>The bartender got to work on their drinks as the party gathered around the small table. “Holy shit, where did you come from!?” Fiddle Dee said at the newly emerged Makaria.</p><p>“My name’s Makaria yada yada yada come on guys let’s get this over with.” Ora spoke in what could generously be called a character voice. Heure stuck out his tounge at her “You’re no fun.”</p><p>As the party exchanged names with their possible employers, the bartender came and set glasses on their table, careful not to touch whatever it was that Garren had wrapped in cloth. The Half-Elf man slipped a few gold coins to their server before turning to adress the adveturers in the room. “Thank you all for accepting my offer, I know I didn’t provide the clearest information in the ad but that was for a purpose.” He gripped the mystery item in his hand “This is a highly valuable item, and I need to see it delivered to someone very important.”</p><p>He set a map next to the wrapped item, of the country of Stonerun, a red line drawn from this little town of Greenton obscure in the countryside to the Golden Oak Capital city. It was a path, long and arduous, trough towns and forests some in the group recognized as exceedingly dangerous. “I have to get this package delivered by the end of the year, but as I am right now- I’m not a fighter, I can’t defend myself against anyone who might try and take this from me. Which is why I need some people to keep me safe.”</p><p>“..Um, why us?” Druscilla said, trying to process what she just heard. “If this is so important, sir- Why trust us?”</p><p>“I’m trusting you because I have to, and because I can tell you that when this is all over, you’ll all be well rewarded for your service to the nation.”</p><p>Fiddle Dee eyed the man suspiciously “Okay, Is that like code for ‘I’ll betray and kill you’ or whatever? “</p><p>“Wait, <em>nation</em>?” Kaleb interjected “You work for the government?”</p><p>“Short answer, yes.” Garren pulled out a large pouch of gold from the pockets of his robes “And our leaders pay me quite well. This is what I’ll pay you upfront, get me where I need to go and I’ll make it more than worth your while.”</p><p>Heure raised his hand “I check the bag to see how much money is in there.”</p><p>As the gnome weighed the pay in his hands he felt the weight of about a thousand gold coins resting in the pouch. A cursory glance at the currency inside told his trained eyes they were legitimate. “His pay is good.” He told the others.</p><p>“..I try and unwrap the cloth to see what’s inside.” Sougo said</p><p>“..Roll for Dexterity.”</p><p>A smile. “17”</p><p>As everybody’s eyes were turned to Fiddle Dee, Kaleb reached for a piece of rope tied to the edge of the item, quickly and discreetly untying it, revealing the object within. In an instant a blinding light radiated across the room, everybody at the table trying to block their eyes. Faintly, a low hum could be heard flowing around the room, melodious and captivating. The light soon subsided and the hum ceased and everybody around the table saw an irritated Garren shooting death glares at Kaleb. “Please refrain from doing that in the future.” His voice was cold and serious, his grip on the neatly tied knot Kaleb had undone.</p><p>“You got it boss.” Kaleb said, giving a thumbs up at him.</p><p>“W-What was that?” Druscilla said, her staff held closer to her side. “That is information you don’t need to know. All you need to know is that it’s dangerous.”</p><p>“I make an Arcana check to see if I recognize what the thing is.” Tsukuyomi rolled her dice, and soon the rest of her party’s eyes were drawn to the ‘19’ embedded on it. “Plus my intelligence and Arcana: 27”</p><p>Druscilla flipped trough one of her study books, the words “light” and “harmonious melodies” written on a page she had skimmed over once before. Tell-tale signs of an item with divine and possibly destructive properties, likely blessed by a deity. </p><p>Badeek nudged her shoulders “Everything alright?”</p><p>“..I’m not sure.”</p><p>“What do you all say? You in?” Garren asked “We leave by tomorrow noon.”</p><p>“Why not? I got nothing better to do, sure!” Kaleb patted Garren on the back, to which the man grunted his disapproval. “I’d feel uncomfortable letting something this potentially dangerous without a guard, I suppose I’ll join as well.” Druscilla said, quieter than she probably meant to. Badeek shrugged “I’m in, as long as the pay is good and I get to fight.”</p><p>Fiddle Dee fired a finger gun at the Dragonborn “What he said, but just the money part.”</p><p>Makaria tapped her pointer finger on the table, rhythmically. “Sure, I guess.”</p><p>Garren took in a breath and nodded, taking a swig of his drink. “Great, I suggest you all go home and get ready. We have an arduous journey ahead of-”</p><p>A loud <em>crash</em> drew our adventurers' attention to the front door, thrown around it’s hinges by a gang of humanoid figures who poured into the room, four in total. All of them were armed with scimitars or crossbows and all of them with their eyes fixed on Garren's package.</p><p>The bartender took his cue and walked into the backroom.</p><p>Woz looked at his players, placing four tokens on the battlegrid.</p><p>“Alright, everyone, roll for initiative.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Roll to Attack</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The first battle, an important part of any campaign!</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>If any of you have any thoughts or criticisms I'd be happy to hear them. Please leave a comment, I'd be happy to hear from you.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Five twenty sided dice hit the table at the same time, luck now deciding who would go first.</p>
<p>
  <strong> <em> <span class="u">BATTLE</span> </em> </strong>
</p>
<p>
  <span class="u">Order of initiative:</span>
</p><ul>
<li><strong><span class="u">Kaleb</span> : 18</strong></li>
<li><strong><span class="u">Bandit Christina</span>: 16</strong></li>
<li><strong><span class="u">Makaria</span> : 14</strong></li>
<li><strong><span class="u">Bandit Timmy</span> : 13</strong></li>
<li><strong><span class="u">Garren</span> : 11</strong></li>
<li><strong><span class="u">Druscilla</span> : 12</strong></li>
<li><strong><span class="u">Fiddle</span> : 10</strong></li>
<li><strong><span class="u">Badeek</span> : 8</strong></li>
<li><strong><span class="u">Bandit Jeff</span> : 2</strong></li>
<li><strong><span class="u">Bandit Billy</span> : 1</strong></li>
</ul>
<p> </p>
<p>“Sougo, you go first. What do you do?” Woz asked, looking down at the stats he had written down for the bandits.</p>
<p>“How far away from the bandits am I?”</p>
<p>“You’re about ten feet away from the closest one on the left.”</p>
<p>“I’m getting the feeling these guys aren’t open to talking so..” He stroked his chin, visualizing the scene in his mind. “..I take Garren and I escort him away from the fight, to make sure he’s safe.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Kaleb ran towards his employer and put two strong hands on the man’s shoulders. “Sir, you should get out of here. I’ll keep you safe.” The human fighter looked at the other adventurers “You guys can handle this right? Okaythanksbyeguysgoodluck!” Just like that Kaleb and Garren ran back towards the bar in the back, Garren quickly swiping his wrapped cargo before the two jumped across the bar and hid behind it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“What the fuck?” Geiz asked Sougo, who seemed indignant at his friend’s confusion. “Hey, if he dies, we don’t get paid and Woz has to come up with a new plotline to keep us playing, I’m looking out for the team here.”</p>
<p>“Next in the order is Bandit Christina.” Woz announced.</p>
<p>“First name: Bandit, last name: Christina.” Heure quipped.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The blonde human woman looked at the four adventurers, standing around the table with their weapons drawn. She held her crossbow close to her chest and ran across the room, her eyes trained on Druscilla. Wizards tended to be squishy little creatures and a well placed bolt was all she needed to take her out. She aimed her weapon at the elven women, and with a twitch of her finger, let a razor sharp bolt fly trough the air and towards her torso.</p>
<p>Druscilla staggered and fell back, her body leaning against the oak wood table as a crossbow bolt found itself stabbing into her shoulder, blood gushing from the wound. “Shit!” the woman cursed, hands grasping at her cypress staff to keep her standing upright.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong><span class="u">DRUSCILLA</span>: 8-6= 2</strong>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>“Well that was a good run.” Tsukuyomi grimaced a little as she wrote a big ‘2’ on her character sheet.</p>
<p>Heure smirked “If you die, Fiddle Dee <em>will</em> play All-Star at your funeral.”</p>
<p>“Next in the order is Makaria, Ora?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Makaria gripped the body of her short bow and jumped over the table, taking cover behind it. She pulled an arrow from her quiver and drew her weapon back, taking aim at the bandit first to her left- closest to the door, a half-orc man a good few feet taller than her. The arrow fired off with a distinct ‘twang’ of the bow’s string.. and missed the bandit named Timmy watched as it struck the door next to him, missing him by a long-shot.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“This game sucks.” Ora groaned, head in her hands.</p>
<p>“Next in the order is Bandit Timmy.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The human man ran up to Fiddle Dee, scimitar raised to the sky as he lunged at the bardic gnome, a vicious glint in his eyes. He brought down the weapon with a trained precision, tearing trough clothes and skin to slash his targets chest. Fiddle Dee grit his teeth, trying not to show his pain as cold metal was coated in his blood. “Fuck fuck fuck <strong><em>fuck</em></strong>!” He mumbled under his breath. “This <em>sucks</em>.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong><span class="u">FIDDLE:</span></strong> <strong>9-4= 5</strong></p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>“Next in the order is Garren.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Garren set his heavy crossbow on the bar table, the weapon pointed at Christina, who was staring down Christina with a the cold professionalism of a trained killer. “I’m going to be honest Kaleb, your party’s performance so far has not inspired much confidence in your skills.” Kaleb shrugged, unsheathing his great sword “That’s fair.”</p>
<p>A bolt from Garren’s crossbow struck the bandit at her side, causing her to stagger as it embedded itself deep in her body. Christina followed the the bolt’s trajectory, her eyes landing on Garren. “Oh, I’ll get to <em>you</em> soon enough, fucker!”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong><span class="u">BANDIT CHRISTINA:</span> 11-9=2</strong>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>“Next in the order, Druscilla. Tsukuyomi?”</p>
<p>“I cast Burning Hands.” Tsukuyomi replied immediately, having three turns already to think about her’s. “Each creature in a 15-foot cone must make a Dexterity saving throw. A creature takes 3d6 fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.”</p>
<p>Geiz’s looked at Tsukuyomi with surprise, looking over her character sheets and notes to realize she had no spell effects written down. “Did you <em>memorize</em> all your spells?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Druscilla, trough heaving breaths, raised her hands up with her palms facing Christina. Heat gathered at her fingertips, a gentle warmth spreading trough her body as the flames shot out of her palms. Christina let out a high pitched scream of pain and terror as the fire engulfed her body in a cone of burning heat. Her skin turned charred and her hair and clothes were singed as she fell to the floor, crossbow clattering to the ground, dead.</p>
<p>Badeek looked at the charred corpse and then at the wounded wizard next to him with his eyes wide. “Fantasy Jesus, I’m a dragonborn and even I don’t burn that good.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong><span class="u">CHRISTINA</span></strong>:<strong> 2-13= -11 (<span class="u">X</span>)</strong></p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>“Next in the order is Fiddle Dee. Heure?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The gnomic bard sprinted behind the table, taking cover next to Makaria. “Saturday nights, amiright?” He said, grasping at his wounds. The tiefling rogue pulled an arrow from her quiver, paying Fiddle a confused look. “It’s Thursday.”</p>
<p>Fiddle pulled out the bow of his Party Violin and closed his eyes, his hands using some muscle memory to belt out a familiar tune he learned as a child. Badeek, a few feet away, felt a magical surge of energy spike trough his body. The dragonborn equivalent of a confident smile spread across his face, Bardic Inspiration now coursing trough his veins. “Get their ass, big guy!”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Next in the order, Badeek.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You got it, little gnome man!” With a powerful stride, the dragonborn barbarian went up to the bandit on the right closest to the door. Bandit Jeff looked in terror as the large reptilian man raised his great axe high above his head and winced as the weapon was brought down on top of him. Jeff screamed in terrible pain as the axe cleaved trough his torso, splitting him in half as the blade of Badeek’s weapon tore trough bone and flesh and soft organs. Life faded from his eyes as the two chunks of his corpse fell to the ground and blood splattered across the floor.</p>
<p>“..Huh. Guess, I didn’t even need the Bardic Inspiration.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Next in the order, Bandit Billy.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Timmy looked at his still surviving compatriot. “Uh.. Billy, we’re kinda.. outnumbered here.” Billy, never one fettered by the odds, unsheathed his scimitar. He jumped over the table, weapon ready in his hands and pointed at Makaria. “Shit.” The tiefling rogue managed to say, before the blade managed to stab her in the chest. “<em>Shit</em>.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong><span class="u">MAKARIA</span>: 8-2= 6</strong>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>“Back to the top of the order, Kaleb, your turn.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Kaleb sprang over the bar table, great sword in hand and his eyes set with determination. Billy yelled in pain as the blade slashed trough his chest, tumbling down the table and crashing to the ground, landing behind Makaria. The man quickly stood back up, blood dripping from his mouth.</p>
<p>“Sorry, you have to die now.” Kaleb said, entirely too polite for the situation.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong><span class="u">BANDIT BILLY</span>: 11-8=2</strong>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p><strong>“</strong>Next in the order, Makaria.”</p>
<p>The tiefling brandished her rapier, her eyes filled with annoyance at the man Kaleb had knocked back to the ground. “Mind if I take this, pretty boy?” She asked Kaleb, who shrugged with indifference. Makaria flourished her weapon before thrusting the blade into his heart. As the light faded from the bandit’s eyes, she quickly pulled the rapier out, it’s tip covered in crimson red.</p>
<p>“That felt good.” Makaria said as she sheathed the weapon. Fiddle looked at her, slightly worried now. “Are you.. turned on, right now?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Heure scrambled to get away as Ora tried to smack him with the back of her palm. “It was a joke! IT WAS A JOKE!” The boy tried hiding behind Sougo, who now had to share the full brunt of Ora’s fury.</p>
<p>“<em>Ahem</em>.” Woz said emphatically, catching his player’s attention. The three nodded hesitantly and sat back down on their spots. “Next in the order is Timmy.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“..You know what, fuck this.” The bandit sheathed his weapon and ran out of the establishment, leaving three corpses and three wounded as the battle drew to a close and the adventurers breath a sigh of relief. Druscilla sat down on a nearby chair, her nose turned up in disgust at the smell of a charred corpse and wincing still at the wound gushing blood from her shoulder. “Ugh..”</p>
<p>Fiddle, now out of hiding, approached the elven woman with the Party Violin in hand. “Uh, you okay lady? Drsucilla?”</p>
<p>She blinked, like she wasn’t expecting the gnome to approach her. “Uh, well.. n-no. I can’t take too many hits, really.” Druscilla was surprised to find some concern written on Fiddle’s face. “I’m gonna play you a tune, okay? Just sit back and relax.” The gnome spoke, his voice unexpectedly gentle. With slow strokes of his bow, the strings of his violin produced a series of calming, soothing notes. Druscilla’s breathing stabilized as the magic of Fiddle’s music turned into an aura, seeping into her wound. Soon, the wound was closed and completely healed and her bleeding stopped.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong><span class="u">DRUSCILLA</span>: 2+6 = 8 (FULL HEALTH)</strong>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>“I-I thank you.” Druscilla spoke softly, hands hovering over where the wound was. “That was.. nice.”</p>
<p>“No prob, bob!” Fiddle exclaimed. “That’s 15 gold per heal, thank you very much. If you don’t mind.” He held his hand out, bowing slightly as he did.</p>
<p>“W-wait a minute! I didn’t agree to-”</p>
<p>“Relax, Silly!” Fiddle said trough his laughter. “Silly, like ‘Cilla’. <em>Anyway</em>, I was just joking. We’re a team now after all, can’t have a teammate bleeding out on their way home or else our chances of surviving drop lower than that lady did when you burned her alive.”</p>
<p>“Oh, uh..” Druscilla stood up, face flushed from embarrassment and a smile threatening to burst trough. “..Thank you, Fiddle.. Don’t call me Silly, though.”</p>
<p>“Too late! You’re Silly now!”</p>
<p>Druscilla rolled her eyes, but her smile now was clear on her face. Kaleb smiled as well, patting Makaria on the back for a job well done. “This seems like the start of a promising adventure!” She pointed her rapier at him in response. “Don’t touch me.”</p>
<p>Kaleb held his arms up, moving a good few feet away from Makaria. “Yes ma’am.”</p>
<p>Garren holstered his weapons back into his bag and tightened the sling on his wrapped cargo, patting it down like a parent patting his child. “Good job, everyone. I <em>am</em> concerned at the bandit that escaped our little battle but I suppose we must cross that particular bridge when we get to it.” He looked at a nearby clock, the arrows pointing to half past midnight. “There is a fairly quality inn east of the town square, for your first official task I’ll want you all to guard me as I sleep.” The older man placed a few pieces of gold on the table, meant for the bartender whenever he peeked his head out of the backroom. He turned back to the adventurers “I expect you all to pay for room out of your own pockets.”</p>
<p>“Yes, sir’s” Of varying enthusiasm echoed trough the room as Garren walked out of the Bedrock Tavern. Kaleb quickly followed, then Badeek behind him, then Druscilla, Fiddle, and finally Makaria filed out of the building, leaving a slightly disheveled tavern in their wake.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong><span class="u">KALEB:</span> + 25 XP</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong><span class="u">BADEEK:</span> +25 XP</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong><span class="u">DRUSCILLA:</span> +25 XP</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong><span class="u">FIDDLE:</span> +25 XP</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong><span class="u">MAKARIA:</span> +25 XP</strong>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>“We did it, we saved the world!” Heure exclaimed after writing down his experience points. Tsukuyomi breathed a sigh of relief and Sougo raised his hand expectantly at Geiz, who responded quickly with a high five. “I didn’t even do anything.” Sougo said with faux pride. Woz raised an eyebrow as he caught a glance at Ora, a satisfied little smirk gracing her face for a few seconds before her trademarked Neutral Frown returned.</p>
<p>The dungeon master looked down at his phone’s digital clock, they’d been going for a solid hour now. “Do you all want to keep going, or..?”</p>
<p>“Sure! I got time to kill.” Sougo said.</p>
<p>“I’m having a lot of fun.” Tsukuyomi added, and Geiz nodded in agreement. “I feel like we should end this session when we’ve like, left Greenton.” Heure said, reaching his hand into a bag full off chips. All eyes went to Ora, who simply shrugged and said “..I guess I’m free to keep going.” She reached into the bag as well, deftly swiping the chip in Heure’s hand before the boy could notice. By the time he did, Ora had already taken an emphatic bite of it.</p>
<p>Woz smiled, looking down at his notes. “Alright then.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The Rosebud Inn was a humble little establishment, a cozy two stories of masterful woodwork and comfy cotton-stuffed beds that smelled like home. The receptionist was an older woman, a dwarf who had seen her fair share of guests come in and out, night time and the six guests that had walked trough her doors had turned her mood sour but she was nothing if not a professional. Recognition flashed in her eyes as Garren approached, a pocketful of gold in hand.</p>
<p>“One room for me, 8 silver pieces correct?” Garren said as he pulled out a single gold piece and placed it on the dwarf woman’s desk. The woman pocketed the coin and threw a glance at the party behind Garren. “New friends old man? These ain’t the people you walked in with yesterday?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Real quick.” Sougo said and interrupted Woz’s narration “I wanna do a perception check inside the inn and outside the windows.”</p>
<p>“Roll a d20”</p>
<p>“Rolled an 8.”</p>
<p>“You don’t notice anything off.”</p>
<p>“..Okay.” Sougo said, eyeing Woz suspiciously as if he had some sort of encounter planned. “I gotcha.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Hi.” Fiddle waved at the dwarve woman. “How’s it going, sweetums.” The women responded with a lazy wave. Garren rolled his eyes “They’ll be making their own reservations.” With no further words exchanged, the woman handed him a slightly rusted old key. “Have a good night, sir.” Garren took the key and walked up a nearby set of stairs, a creak in the wood with each step. As the man disappeared to the second floor, the dwarven woman looked back to the party and put on a polite ‘customer service’ smile “What can I do for you, then?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I’m gonna ask her how many rooms there are.” Heure said and Woz nodded. “There are about three rooms left, all of them have one, two person beds. One room is 8 silver pieces and that’s roughly one gold piece.”</p>
<p>“There’s five of us though, so one person gets a room to themselves.” Geiz said.</p>
<p>“I think that’s a conversation that should happen in character?” Woz asked, to the agreement of his players.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I’m getting the extra room, and none of you fuck’s are gonna convince me otherwise.” Makaria said, hand inching dangerously close to her rapier. Badeek huffed “You’re tiny though! I’m big! I need the space more!” The tiefling looked at Badeek and rolled her eyes. “I’m sure there’s a free cave vacant around here.”</p>
<p>Fiddle cringed, whispering next to Kaleb “That-That felt kinda racist, right?” Kaleb didn’t respond except for a confused shrug.</p>
<p>As Makaria and Badeek stared each other down, the tiefling rouge felt an invisible force strong against her torso, pushing her away from Badeek. Druscilla stood between them, Arcane Pocket Watch open and glowing in her palm. “Listen, both of you. It’s an hour past midnight and arguing about rooms is not how I want to wait it out until morning. Why don’t I and Makaria share a room, and Heu-Fiddle and Kaleb take one too. I’m sure no one here wants to risk cuddling up with scales over there for the night.”</p>
<p>“..I do have feelings you know.” Badeek mumbled.</p>
<p>Kaleb walked up to the dragonborn, patting his shoulder in a comforting manner. Makaria crossed her arms but offered no further rejection which Druscilla responded with a grateful smile. “Thank you for being sensible, Miss Makaria.” The tiefling rolled her eyes “Whatever.”</p>
<p>Fiddle skipped over to the dwarven women and quickly set three pieces of gold onto the desk. “Three room keys my ma’am.” The women produced three keys from underneath the desk and gathered her pay. As she handed the keys to Fiddle’s little hands, she said in a pleasant voice “Check out is at seven, enjoy your stay.”</p>
<p>Druscilla took her key from Fiddle, the gnome giving an over-dramatic bow and a quip of “Here you go, Silly” before standing beside Kaleb, showing off the two remaining keys in his hand, one of which Badeek quickly snatched for himself.</p>
<p>“Alright, let’s go.” Makaria said, grabbing Druscilla by the arm and ignoring her protests. Kaleb smiled down at his gnome roommate as the two of them walked up the stairs. Badeek looked down at his key, alone in the now empty first floor (the old woman having retired back to her office).</p>
<p>“..Yeah, good night guys.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I feel so bad for Badeek.” Sougo said to Tsukuyomi.</p>
<p>“He leads a charmed life.” Geiz quipped.</p>
<p>Woz paused for a second to take a sip of water, his throat dry from the extensive narration. “..Alright. Let’s go to next morning?”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Next up: The party's first battle!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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